Andrew Mitchell and Morgen Schmorgen

Andrew Mitchell has been doing his level best to be nice to absolutely everyone. Image: Getty

Another week, another former Tory cabinet minister working a room. Last week I brought you news of Liam Fox entertaining the great and good of the Tory party. Now I hear that Andrew Mitchell has been making an extra special effort to be nice to absolutely everyone. The former chief whip was being very friendly to the commentariat at a drinks party at a recently opened hotel in Westminster. He shunned sceptical news journalists, but made determined passes at those with influential column inches. Whatever could he want them to say?

George Osborne was at the same private party, pressing flesh like a coiffured madam in a brothel. There was no sign, though, of the PM, which was slightly surprising given his comments to the House Magazine this week about his need to escape regularly from the ‘cage’ of Number 10.

By the way, that interview proves that the PM’s learnt his lesson from boasting about his love for DVDs and ‘chillaxing’. Asked if he was enjoying the hit BBC4 Danish political drama Borgen, which has the rest of the Village gripped, young Dave replied:

‘No! God, no. It’s just whether Morgen Schmorgen is health minister or is education minister…it’s too much like work!’

All the more reason to watch it, Dave. The show’s heroine, Birgitte Nyborg, manages her coalition government rather well. Not an omnishambles in sight.